Hard Vision |
July 2007Led Zeppelin | Einstuerzande Neubauten | Thunderfingers - Entwistle Tribute | The Charms | Maggie Bell & The Midnight Flyer | Pendragon | Adromeda | Metalmania XX LED ZEPPELIN I am not the biggest Led Zeppelin fan, but I do like quite a bit of their songs and this was a cool DVD cause this traces the roots of the band as you get interviews with a guy who wrote a book on The Yardbirds, a Yardbirds guitarist, and many others. This when you watch this will let you see the origins of the group and how they came to be. You also get some live and studio recordings of some of the bands early hits. This is a must for any hardcore Led Zepplin fan hands down. Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com EINSTUERZENDE NEUBAUTEN This to me was just a wall of industrial noise. I am not an expert on this style of music, but this was just plain awful. A bunch of guys just making a bunch of noise with no purpose at all. The songs had no direction, the singing was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo as well. I like some industrial (Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Godflesh), but this was just to my ears a bunch of noise that dulled my ears and was very, very forgettable Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com "Thunderfingers - A Tribute To John Entwistle" The late, great John Entwistle is profiled in this DVD. It includes the last interview he gave before his untimely death (the interview conducted by Gordon Giltrap), and commentary from other famous musicians, and John's family and friends. They discuss John's impact on their lives and on the world of rock music. John of course was an extremely talented, innovative, and influential bass guitarist, who created a unique style of his own, and helped define the way rock bass is played. He has influenced generations of musicians, and will no doubt continue to do so for a long time to come. In the final interview, John discusses and demonstrates his bass guitar techniques and abilities. As he, and others, point out, he played bass as if it were lead guitar. He shows the difference between a bass player and a bass guitarist. His background and history are also discussed. Right from the very start, John was a very musically inclined and gifted individual. He started playing music at a very young age, and always excelled at it. Dave Lambert of the Strawbs (one of the interviewees) went to summer camp as a boy with John, heard him playing a simple wake up call tune on a bugle, and thought it sounded beautiful. That was certainly a sign of things to come! Later, in college, John met the other Who members, they formed a band, and the rest is history! As a bonus item, John is interviewed at his home, showing off and discussing his prized guitar collection. He also "show and tells" his his favorite and most played basses, and talks of the classic "Who's Next" album and how he thought it stood out. Although he's no longer with us, John's legacy will last forever, and he will always be a big influence and an icon in the world of rock. To many, he will never die. THE CHARMS Even though this is a rather simple DVD to describe, it's still an amazing release. Basically, it's a raw, up close and personal look at The Charms...kind of a Behind The Music if you will, with interviews featuring the band members, the manager and Steven Van Zandt, who happens to be a fan/supporter of the band. It's the story of The Charms...the good, the bad and everything in between. It was directed and produced by Ben Oliver and, let me tell you, he did one hell of a job. He managed to squeeze the first three years of the bands existance into one nice, neat, entertaining package and, to be honest with you, I'm not at all familiar with the band. This is the first time I've heard of them. But, this release made me a fan. Yes, it's that good and that's all that really needs to be said. MAGGIE BELL & THE MIDNIGHT FLYER I have never heard of this lady and her band before, but I tell you what I am impresed. This is pure rock n roll blues and this lady can pack a wallop on the vocal side too. All the songs are kick ass rock n roll numbers that wouldn't be out of place on a Deep Purple or UFO release. The camera work isn't bad for 1989 and the sound is good and the band sound very tight. A great rock n roll DVD that made me a fan and now I am gonna look for her stuff on CD as well. Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com PENDRAGON I have never heard of band, but reading over the bio they have been together a long, long time and on this DVD they play many songs from their debut release and welcome back somd ex-members too. For this being my 1st time hearing the band, I would say they play some excellent prog rock sort of like Asia or early Geneisis in spots. The sound on this is incredible and the camera work lets you feel like yourt right onstage too. There is almost 2 hours of music and you also get interviews with a couple of the members as well. If your a diehard fan. look for the limited version which includes 2 bonus discs too. Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com ADROMEDA This really didn't do anyhting for me. I really tried to like it, but by song #6 I was bored to tears. This band plays progressive metal with lots of keyboards and the songs to be felt flat and didn't mix to me. I didn;t like the singer and the songs just plodded along and just didn't reel me in like the above DVD did. If your into this band, the production and camera work are A plus and you get bonus videos, old footage etc, but this is not for me. Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com METALMANIA XX This is a combo DVD and CD. There is 22 songs on the DVD by such bands as Moonspell, Nevermore (my fav of the bunch), Acid Drinkers, 1349, and others. The CD has bands like: Beseech, Centinex, Shadow's Land, etc. The DVD side of things most of the bands get 2-3 songs as always with this company the camera work and sound are excellent. There is a lot of people at this fest and as you view this, you'll see why. You also get on the CD the best the Polish scene has to offer. I always have a spot in my heart for comps and the like cause you get a variety of bands and get to discover some new ones. Do yourself a favor and pick this up and I bet you discover some new bands yourselves. Info: http://www.mvdb2b.com |